Prague zoo sees second elephant birth in a year

Record ID: 84477

  • Title: Prague zoo sees second elephant birth in a year
  • Date: 10th October 2016
  • Summary: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (OCTOBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) PRAGUE ZOO VISITORS POSTER ANNOUNCING NEWBORN ELEPHANT BABY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING ELEPHANTS IN ENCLOSURE ADULT FEMALE ELEPHANT TAMARA WITH HER NEWBORN BABY VISITORS TAMARA AND HER BABY (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) PRAGUE ZOO DIRECTOR, MIROSLAV BOBEK, SAYING: "We have bred elephants here for 82 years now and this year only we have seen a 100 percent pure Prague elephant baby being born, which means that it was conceived and born here. Now we have two elephant babies, and that is unbelievable. I think it would be rather unusual to see two elephants being born within half a year in other zoos in the world." ELEPHANT KEEPER WITH MOTHER TAMARA VARIOUS OF ELEPHANT BABY AROUND MOTHERS LEGS TAMARA ELEPHANT BABY EATING SPRIGS (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ELEPHANT KEEPER, PAVEL BRANDL, SAYING: "The baby was born in the presence of Janita (mother of the elephant born in April) who is an experienced mother, and also in the presence of Max (the baby elephant born in April). But he complicated things a bit because he wanted to play with the newborn like a partner. He weighs 260 kilos already and is three times heavier, so we had to keep them separate for a while." VARIOUS OF SIX MONTH-OLD MAX WITH HIS MOTHER JANITA IN SEPARATE PEN TAMARA WITH HER NEWBORN BABY, WHICH IS HAVING TROUBLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ELEPHANT KEEPER, PAVEL BRANDL, SAYING: "Tamara is being a perfect mother. She is very quiet, even more than Janita. We didn't expect this because Tamara has a very complicated nature and this a very positive surprise for us." TAMARA AND BABY WALKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 25th October 2016 16:32
  • Keywords: Prague baby elephant
  • Location: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
  • City: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA00153FAKAH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Prague ZOO celebrated the arrival of their second elephant baby within a year with joy after an elephant called Tamara gave birth after 685 days of pregnancy on Friday evening.
    Tamara arrived from Sri Lanka four years ago with Janita, who gave birth to Max in April.
    "We have bred elephants here for 82 years now and this year only we have seen a 100 percent pure Prague elephant baby being born, which means that it was conceived and born here. Now we have two elephant babies, and that is unbelievable. I think it would be rather unusual to see two elephants being born within half a year in other zoos in the world." Zoo director, Miroslav Bobek, told Reuters.
    Janita and Max were present as Tamara gave birth to the new-comer, also male baby who already weights over 80 kilograms.
    "Max (...) complicated things a bit because he wanted to play with the newborn like a partner. He weighs 260 kilos already and is three times heavier, so we had to keep them separate for a while," elephant keeper, Pavel Brandl, said.
    "Tamara is being a perfect mother. She is very quiet, even more than Janita. We didn't expect this because Tamara has a very complicated nature and this a very positive surprise for us," he added.
    Prague Zoo has been running an elephant breeding programme since 1933 when the first calf came over from Ceylon, with its first results in February 2013, when the first elephant baby was born after more than 80 years.
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